A device that makes it easier to identify and manage concussions in rugby games has won Massey University industrial design graduate Spencer Buchanan top prize in the New Zealand section of the 16th James Dyson Award.
The global product design competition celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers.
Mr Buchanan (pictured), 22 from Warkworth, designed a prototype mouthguard called Nerve with motion sensors worn by rugby players 
to identify concussion risks after the player has taken a rough knock. He wins $4000 to help commercialise his design concept and an official prize package from the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) tailored to his design’s intellectual property needs, a year’s membership to The Designer’s Institute and a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
His design uses motion sensors to identify possible impact injuries to the head but missed by the human eye. If an athlete wearing the mouth guard takes an impact over a certain threshold, the sensors communicate wirelessly to the team doctor’s iPad or tablet. It then calculates the risk based on an algorithm that measures the impact and where it was located along with the player’s previous concussion history to determine whether the player should return to play.
Mr Buchanan, who suffered several concussions playing rugby and snowboarding, says his design was a good match for his sporting interests and background in design.
“Rugby and concussion is a topical issue that is constantly under the spotlight,” he says.
Medical professionals confirmed at the start of this design process that existing headgear only protects against cuts and abrasions and not concussion. With wearable technology becoming an emerging trend in contact sport, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to combine my industrial design knowledge and look to find a solution to the problem.”
The mouthguard is designed to be custom-made to fit the individual requirements of players and its microelectronics are laminated within the design to prevent any health and safety concerns too.
The judges were unanimous in their decision. Head judge Mike Jensen says Spencer’s design addresses a topical issue for New Zealand sport and culture.
“We must be coming close to a culture change with an older generation of All Blacks linked with dementia.
“What is exciting about Spencer’s design is that it is not one product; he’s developed an entire system encompassing sensors in a fully sealed, non-corrosive mouth guard, a charger unit and an app. These components also reveal his sensitivity to good design, while offering peace of mind to athletes involved in any contact sport, their medical support and their families,” Mr Jensen says.
Other finalists included fellow Massey industrial designers Geoff Desborough who designed a camera attachment called a gimbal for hand-held filming of action sports and Cameron Holder who designed a temporary safe habitat, in the shape of a pool, to rehabilitate wildlife caught up in oil spills. All three designers studied at Massey’s College of Creative Arts. Victoria University graduate and Nelson designer Stuart Baynes was also a finalist with his design of a swimming prosthesis that helps lower leg amputees to walk unaided to the pool, dive in, and swim with symmetry and ease
The New Zealand finalists now progress to the international final to be announced on October 26. It includes prize money of NZ $60,000 for the winner and NZ$10,000 for the winning designer’s university.
